We all can probably agree that the world needs less judging and more compassion. Negative behaviors usually stem from lack of understanding about what another person is going through. This is especially true when it comes to medical issues. Young mother Shelly Pruitt shares her story about how outward appearances don’t give the full story…
On April 1, 2013, we sat in an ear-nose-throat doctor’s office thinking that Jeff had pulled a muscle in his neck from playing basketball with our son. The doctor had told us the previous Friday that he was sure that is what Jeff had done. When he came in that morning and told us that…
Anna-Maria Beck, a 17-year-old Sacred Heart Academy student with an inoperable brain tumor, led a delegation to Washington, D.C. Beck, along with a team from Norton Children’s Hospital, met with lawmakers to push new legislation, including the Advancing Care for Exceptional Kids Act of 2015 (ACE Kids Act), which would make it easier for children…
“Flames were shooting into her hand. She kept screaming.” That’s how Marc Janson recalls his Fourth of July last summer. Janson and his daughter Caroline, then 6 years old, were playing with handheld smoke bombs, lighting the end that shoots smoke while holding the other. It seemed simple enough — they’d used these fireworks dozens…
Anna-Maria Beck, a 17-year-old Sacred Heart student, is going to Washington, D.C. on behalf of children facing serious illnesses. On June 22, Anna-Maria and her family will travel to Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers about new legislation, including the Advancing Care for Exceptional Kids Act of 2015 (ACE Kids Act), which would make it…
I’ve thought about writing this letter about a million times since March. Now that things have settled down and Miles is thriving, I feel like I can finally gather my thoughts and attempt to put into words just how much two physicians have impacted mine and my family’s life. A week before Miles’ open heart…
After months of trying to figure out what the lump in my clavicle was, my ear-nose-throat doctor looked at me and said, “I think it’s cancer and I want it out. If I’m wrong, I’ll take you out to dinner wherever you want to go and you can punch me in the face at the…
Shearice Harrison cheered just like any other mom as her son, Jerren, walked across the New Albany High School stage to get his diploma. But she wasn’t just celebrating his academic achievements; she reveled in the fact that her son was alive to see this day. “I held my baby, who was just a few…
When Sam Rickert looked in the mirror, he didn’t like what he saw: an unfit, overweight young man. He decided to make a change after noticing that fit people maintain healthy habits. “I started talking to others who looked fit and discovered that they didn’t drink soda,” Sam said. “So I stopped too.” After talking…
On a cold February morning, Bob Steuart was beginning his work day, leaving his Brandenburg, Kentucky, home for his job as a tax preparer. He never made it out of the driveway before suffering what could have been a fatal stroke. Bob recalls most of what happened that morning. He said he got into his…
Since I was invited to share my story, those words have been swimming around in my mind. My story. I blogged my days during cancer treatment. I did that to share my experience, to educate, to encourage. That’s what my story is about. I told my story in that blog. Told it in a raw,…
During her road to recovery from knee replacement surgery, it never entered Phyllis Atzinger’s mind that she could have a stroke. But she did, and thanks to her husband knowing the signs and the fast work of her medical team, she lives to tell about it. “I don’t remember much, so I rely on my…